Mum slams parents who bring sick kids to school: 'It's not a babysitting club'
But should you really keep your child off for a cold?
With Christmas just around the corner, 'tis the season to have colds and flu and sneezes, right? ?
And we're pretty sure plenty of you have either had a little one under the weather, or will have a little one with a case of the sniffles at some point in the next few weeks.
But if you do - don't think about taking them to school, says Canadian mum Maria MacKeigan, who's also shared a pic of her poorly little girl on Instagram.
Her daughter has Down's Syndrome, and one of the side effects is a compromised immune system (meaning she's more likely to pick up bugs and find it harder to fight them off.)
Next to the pic, Maria wrote the following words:
"Tears and anger both flowed for me at school today. I took Jordan Grace home. When my child gets the simple cold she may end up like this!
"I can’t for the life of me understand why people would put others at risk “because they have so many things to do” (FYI school is not the babysitting club) not only are others at risk but your own child needs you to cuddle them, to love them, to care for them back to health.
"When Jordan Grace is sick, I think of her first, and how miserable she would be at school. How she needs her mama by her side caring for her.
"But I also think of others, I don’t want my child to go get others sick especially those who may end up in the hospital because their little bodies can’t fight the sickness off on their own.
"If we cared more about the world around us and not just ourselves this world would be a much better place!"
The response
Maria got lots of praise for her post, one mum saying:
"We definitely know this frustration. We want to do everything in our power to keep them from getting sick. We have had to turn down many visits from friends and family for this reason."
Though not everyone felt the same, for example one person who said this:
"If I kept Emmy home for every runny nose we would literally not leave the house for 9 months out of the year…
"I’ve just decided that we can’t protect our kids from everything so I’m not going keep my kids in a bubble."
And another said: "I see your point but you also have to look at it from the other side.
"Being a single mom that had to work a full time job, I didn’t have the convenience of keeping Joshua home at the start of every cold."
Hmmmmm. Here at MFM we can definitely see both sides of this one: how horrible for Jordan to end up in hospital - such a hard thing for any parent to watch ?
On the other hand, one mum in our team who's had a sniffly Year 2 child this week and thought about keeping her off school was told there was no way her child should be kept home for a cold, and that she was expected to be in unless she had a soaring temperature.
What do you think?
Is Maria's request realistic? Would you keep your little one off school or nursery for a cold? Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook
Image: Maria Mackeigan on Instagram
Read more:
Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
Create the perfect wishlist for your baby with MyCrib
Are you expecting and don't know where to start? Discover how MyCrib can help you build your dream wishlist. You can add products from any site with just one click and even use MyCrib's buying assistant to help get you started.